|
Quality
Rock
Best
New Rock
St.
Louis Cardinals
St.
Louis Blues |
 |
| |
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- "BORN TO RUN"
 | Writer: Bruce Springsteen
 | Producers: Bruce Springsteen and Mike Appel
 | Recorded: August 1974 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York
 | Released: August 1975
 | Players:
Bruce Springsteen -- vocals, guitar
Garry Tallent -- bass
Ernest "Boom" Carter -- drums
David Sancious -- keyboards
Danny Federici -- organ
Clarence Clemons -- saxophone
 | Album: Born To Run (Columbia, 1975 )
 | Also On:
Live/1975-1985 (Columbia, 1986)
Greatest Hits (Columbia, 1995)
Live In New York City (Columbia, 2001)
The Essential Bruce Springsteen (Columbia, 2003)
 | Bruce Springsteen recorded the Born To Run album under
stress, since his first two albums had sold a combined 90,000 copies.
 | The song was recorded in advance of the album during a session at 914
Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York. It was one of the last of Springsteen's
recordings coproduced by then-manager Mike Appel and to feature E
Street Band members Ernest "Boom" Carter
and David Sancious.
 | Shortly after it was finished, Appel leaked copies of "Born To
Run" to a DJ in Philadelphia, then to stations in New York City and
Boston, while the album was still being recorded, which created a buzz and
heightened expectations for the album.
 | Former Hollies singer Allan Clarke was impressed enough by
the song to record a cover version and release it in the fall of 1974 --
before Springsteen's own version came out. (In 1975, the Hollies would also
release "Sandy," a cover of Springsteen's "4th Of July,
Asbury Park (Sandy)." The group's version peaked at Number 85 on the
pop chart, better than any Springsteen single had done to that point.)
 | Columbia spent an estimated $150,000 advertising and promoting the Born
To Run album, a huge sum for a relatively unknown and unsuccessful
artist. Part of the campaign included maneuvering Springsteen onto the cover
of both Time and Newsweek magazines in the same week in 1975.
 | Springsteen acknowledged his lofty ambitions for the song in the liner
notes of his Greatest Hits album, calling it "my shot at the
title -- a 24-year-old kid aiming at 'the greatest rock 'n' roll record
ever.'"
 | He told biographer Dave Marsh, "The most important thing is
the question thrown back at 'Born To Run': 'I wanna know if love is real.'
And the answer is yes."
 | Guitarist "Miami" Steve Van Zandt joined the E
Street Band during the Born To Run sessions, after Springsteen asked
him to arrange horns on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out."
 | "Born To Run" peaked at Number 23 on the Billboard Hot
100.
 | A "Born To Run" video featuring concert footage was released in
1987. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
FAST FORWARD:
 | Van Zandt, who now goes by Little Steven, left the E Street Band
following the 1984 album Born In The U.S.A. to work on a solo career.
In addition to the albums he's released, he's also made a name for himself
through several endeavors, including as an actor on the HBO series The
Sopranos.
 | Springsteen dismissed the E Street Band in 1989, although he reunited with
them, briefly, in 1995, and for world tours in 1999-2000 and 2002-2003.
 | Drummer Max Weinberg has a steady job for the downtime between
projects with Springsteen -- he's the leader of the Max Weinberg 7,
the house band for NBC's Late Night With Conan O'Brien.
 | Springsteen was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the
Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1999.
 | Springsteen has since reissued Born To Run in an expanded, deluxe
three-disc package to mark the album's 30th anniversary.
 | Springsteen has announced a new album with the E Street Band to be
released in October, called Magic. He is also expected to tour. |
| | | | |
 | Listen all this Week for your Chance to Call in and
Register to Win Tickets to See Bruce Springsteen at the Scottrade Center in
St. Louis, Saturday August 23rd...PLUS...Backstage Passes to meet Steven Van
Zandt of the E Street Band!!! Winners announced Friday Morning during the
Morning Show on B104.3!!! |
|